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Deliciously Organic: Cream of Tomato Soup

Deliciously Organic

A blog devoted entirely to simple, wholesome, organic cooking.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Cream of Tomato Soup



This afternoon the wind is howling, rain is pouring, and I have a huge pot of chicken noodle soup gently bubbling on the stove.  While I'm here in the comfort of my warm home I think of all the families today in Haiti who no longer have a home and even worse, have lost loved ones and may never know what happened to them.  The footage of the children who are now orphaned breaks my heart and I wish I had enough time and money to take them all in so they could have a warm place to sleep, a family to take care of them, and comforting food.



The other day I told my kids about the devastation in Haiti and while I described it to them, their eyes were full of sympathy.  My youngest asked me if babies were hurt, and sadly I answered, "Yes".  I then told them that some bloggers are coming together to help raise funds for those in such desperate need by creating a "heart-inspired" recipe.  I told them that I couldn't think of what to make and asked them what their ideas were.  My oldest replied, "How about creamy tomato soup with a heart in the middle made of cream?  If I were in their position I would want something warm and comforting."  My youngest piped in and said, "Yes! After we take pictures we could put the soup in a container and send it to them so they will have something warm to eat." I explained that we can't ship it and was overwhelmed at their thoughtfulness and simplicity of thought.



My husband told me that he went to a briefing about disaster relief while he was deployed to Africa last year.   It was interesting to me that what people don't need immediately is food shipped in because there is usually no where to put the food and it ends up being stored in huge warehouses for quite a while.  He also said that thousands of people flocking to the destroyed area to help without a plan is also not something that is needed, because now there are more people to feed and shelter.  He said the greatest need (as he was told) is plastic sheeting to make shelters and water purification systems.  This information surprised me, but completely makes sense when you stand back and look at the big picture.  One way for us to provide the items so desperately needed is to donate funds to the proper organizations.  I encourage you to donate (no amount to small) to the charity of your choice and if you do, please send me an email telling where you made a charitable contribution and I'll send you an exclusive recipe as a way to say "thank you".  If you aren't sure where to donate, you can click here or here for a few ideas.




Cream of Tomato Soup
Adapted slightly from Cooks Illustrated
Serves 6

2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes, drained, 3 cups of juice reserved
1 1/2 tablespoons rapadura (dehydrated cane juice)
4 tablespoons butter
4 shallots, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
1 3/4 cups chicken stock (homemade preferred)
1/2 cup cream
2 tablespoons brandy
sea salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Spread tomatoes in a single layer on a large 13 x 9 baking dish.  Sprinkle evenly with rapadura.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until all juice has evaporated.  Set aside.

Heat butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add shallots and tomato paste and saute until shallots are soft.  Add flour and stir constantly for about 30 seconds until combined.  Whisking constantly, add chicken stock and reserved tomato juice then add roasted tomatoes.  Bring to a boil and then cover pot and lower heat to a simmer.   Let simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove lid and puree soup using a hand immersion blender or puree in batches in a blender.  Stir in cream and heat over low heat for 2-3 minutes.  Off heat, stir in brandy and season with sea salt to taste.

9 Comments:

Blogger Robin, David, Simon and Leo said...

Beautiful soup. We've been listening a lot to the news of Haiti on the radio with the kids while we're in the car, and it's honestly hard for all of us to comprehend. But it definitely makes us grateful for our safety and health.

January 22, 2010 at 8:41 AM  
Blogger Sarah said...

Sometimes you just want to turn the TV off and not look at the disaster and be thankful that you have a warm bed and vast amounts of water at your disposal. But you can't turn off your mind or heart that easy...a donation was made to the Red Cross.

January 22, 2010 at 9:57 AM  
Blogger Rebecca T said...

we have given to world vision. we support 2 children monthly through them (neither in Haiti) but i knew world vision had people on the ground in Haiti (400 WV workers) and knew my money would be put to good use immediately. i have loved the idea of the text program the red cross program has done. what an easy way to donate! i too, wish i could give physical comfort to those poor people. if any of them make their way to abilene, i am going to open my home to them however i can. i don't know if that will happen but i'm ready if they want to come.

January 22, 2010 at 11:39 AM  
Anonymous Leah Richardson said...

Soup looks delicious! I wanted to tell you about a T-shirt I bought with "Help Haiti Rise" on the front. !00% of profits go to the non-profit org, Partners in Health. It is a cute Tee and a visual reminder to pray...donate...do what you can with what you've got! You can purchase at frettoprints.com
God bless you! leah

January 23, 2010 at 9:01 AM  
Blogger Holyoke Home said...

Gorgeous photos on a gorgeous website. I love the clean lines and large images and thank you for the recipe.

Stopping by from SITS.

January 25, 2010 at 8:08 AM  
Blogger Deliciously Organic said...

Sarah: Can you please send me your email to deliciouslyorganic [at]yahoo[dot]com? Thanks!

January 25, 2010 at 8:32 AM  
Anonymous Stacy said...

Such a great soup. It sounds like you have a thoughtful, wonderful and loving family.

January 25, 2010 at 6:21 PM  
Blogger Jen said...

Beautiful! Thanks for the recipe and the wonderful meaning and intention behind the help to those in need! Our girl scout troops are working extra hard to earn money to contribute to the needs in Haiti and around the world. It's inspiring to hear 5 - 8 year olds tell YOU who needs help and why. I will be altering the recipe to be gluten free but I will let you know how it goes!

January 27, 2010 at 7:31 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Another hit! Seriously, do you make anything that tastes bad? I'll be first in line for your cookbook!

February 6, 2010 at 4:55 AM  

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